PERSPECTIVE FROM THE 19^TH HOLE: This is the title I chose for my personal blog, which is meant to give me an outlet for one of my favorite crafts – writing – plus use an image from my favorite sport, golf. Out of college, my first job was as a reporter for the Daily Astorian in Astoria, Oregon, and I went on from there to practice writing in all of my professional positions, including as a Congressional press secretary in Washington, D.C., an Oregon state government manager in Salem and Portland, press secretary for Oregon’s last Republican governor (Vic Atiyeh), and a private sector lobbyist. This blog also allows me to link another favorite pastime – politics and the art of developing public policy – to what I write.

On a number of occasions since I left state government in 1990, I have reflected on lessons I learned from my boss at the then-called State Executive Department.

He was Fred Miller, a veteran state government administrator who came to the job after previous experience in a number of state agency director positions. In his role as director of the Executive Department, he functioned as the “chief operating officer” in state government, asking agency directors, with the support of the governor, to report to him on a routine basis.

That approach left major statewide issues to the governor who, of course, relied on Miller for advice and counsel as he, the governor, provided overall leadership in Oregon.

At the Executive Department, I worked with a small group of administrators who essentially functioned as deputy directors of the department. They were the budget director, the personnel and labor relations director, the accounting director, and information management director, the executive recruitment director – and me, the internal and external communications director.

One of the purposeful tasks I pursued during those years was to serve as “secretary of the cabinet” where I developed the agenda for meetings every week of agency directors. There were three – two for large agencies and one for small agencies because (and this is not well known) there are more than 100 state agencies, each with a statutory foundation for existence.

Miller presided over cabinet meetings to free the governor to remain involved in major political tasks.

From Miller, I learned several key management lessons, as follows:

• Send at least one thank-you note every day: Miller practiced this seemingly easy but important task. Every day, he would write a thank-you note to someone who had helped him in his job. I have tried to mimic that action over the years to reflect the reality that no one ever accomplishes something alone without help from others.
• His approach to employee evaluations: Miller’s skill in this area was noteworthy. For all of his direct reports, including me, he would prepare a carefully written summary of performance, then share it with his reports, as well as meet with each of us individually to review performance.

His evaluation helped me to improve as a manager. It was a very effective commitment to solid management, one I tried to mimic in my own career.

• His advice about the Oregon Legislature: Miller was fond of saying that “the easiest thing to do is to be cynical about the legislature.” His advice: Don’t be cynical.

Skepticism might be warranted, he agreed, but not cynicism. Besides, Miller said, with all of its shortcomings, legislative representative government is better than whatever is in second place.

This was great advice, something I tried to keep in mind as I transitioned for the next 25 years after state government service to be a state lobbyist.

• The virtue of transparency and “availability” to talk with the media: One of the most overused words in talk about government today is transparency. I don’t know what it means most of the time.

Back at the Executive Department, we practiced full and open transparency, meaning that our management actions were open to public review, including by the media.

Here is only one example. In the late 1980s, state employees decided to strike, which was a foolhardy act on the part of those employees because, when on strike, they would not get paid and it would take many years for them to recover the lost payments when the strike ended. And surely it would end!

The major public employee union practiced what was called a “rolling strike.” In other words, it would not follow state law by alerting management where a strike would occur, but would endeavor to surprise us every day with a new strike location, as well as with a “rolling agenda” of those who would be on strike.

For the reporters and editors covering the strike, that meant every day they wanted to know how many employees were on strike and where the strike would occur.

To provide this information, Miller and I decided to walk the two blocks over to the State Capitol every day with exact strike reports in hand. There, we visited the Capitol Press Room, which, then, was occupied by key reporters covering state government.

We went around the room sharing the information and answering questions, thus winning credibility as we reported progress – or lack thereof – on the strike. With Miller’s approval, I also agreed during the day to be interviewed on camera by TV stations reporting strike news as I “spoke for the management side of state government.”

The approach was a tribute to real transparency, not some sham attempt to say we were open to review.

For me, these were important lessons learned. Each has stuck with me during the rest of my career. And I still keep in touch with Miller and other members of the Executive Department management team. We fed off each other during those years to make state government better and we still talk today.

[A footnote:  When Miller left the top job at the Executive Department, his successor decided to make a change in the department’s name.  It became the Department of Administrative Services.  I didn’t like what the name change portrayed.  An “executive agency” with high-level management because “administrative services,” which, to me, sounds like pushing pencils.]